Two New Sherlock Holmes Reads Sure to Please Every Fan

We are in a Sherlock Holmes renaissance where we are certain to get at least two good Sherlock Holmes books each year. With a little luck, we may even get two outstanding reads in a month. But you know we've hit gold when we get two exceptional Sherlock Holmes short story collections in the same week!! That's right. April 15th sees the release of GC Rosenquist's Sherlock Holmes: The Pearl of Death and Other Stories. GC is known as a science fiction writer, and this is his first Sherlock Holmes collection. April 17th sees the release of David Marcum's Tangled Skeins which could have easily been called The Papers of Sherlock Holmes Volume 3. Both of these books will satisfy all Sherlock Holmes fans, but which book should you read first? That is a matter of preference.


Sherlock Holmes: The Pearl of Death and Other Early Stories

The Pearl of Death is a unique Sherlock Holmes collection. The stories are traditional; indeed, they are early tales, before The Great Hiatus. The opening and title story is a fast paced actioner, sure to satisfy fans of the new film series starring Robert Downey Jr. Fans who like their stories to read like Doyle will enjoy tales such as "The Late Constable Avery," and "The Case of the Marble Ghost." Lastly, Mr. Rosenquist surprised me with two ironic stories that had a touch of humor to them. The stories, "The Lure of the Rhinoceros Head," and "The Predictability Problem," are fun reads that, while funny, are completely respectful to the great detective. This is a great collection that Holmes fans won't want to miss.


Sherlock Holmes – Tangled Skeins - Stories from the Notebooks of Dr. John H. Watson

There are good pastiche writers, there are great ones, and then there is David Marcum who ranks among the very best. His short story collections, The Papers of Sherlock Holmes are some of the best selling Sherlock Holmes books, with good reason. His mysteries are complex, and his Holmes and Watson come straight out of the canon. Doyle would be proud to see his characters continuing on in Mr. Marcum's writing. Now comes another perfect collection of traditional tales entitled, Tangled Skeins. The title refers to the fact that Holmes was always working multiple stories at the same time, and Watson would pull one narrative out of the tangled web of mysteries to create his adventures. The stories are all equally great, but I personally loved the tale, ""The Matter of Boz's Last Letter," which is a complex mystery involving the possible ending to Dickens's The Mystery of Edwin Drood. You also get cases involving the sister of Mrs. Hudson, and even the mother of a Baker Street Irregular. What makes this collection really stand out, oddly enough, is the fun introduction to the collection where the author explains his life long love of the deerstalker hat. This book is a requirement to the library of every Holmes fan.

So, with two amazing books out this week, you are probably wondering where to start. If you are a die hard traditionalist, then Tangled Skeins is your starting place. If you enjoy your Holmes with a dose of action or a little quirkiness, I'd begin with The Pearl of Death. In all honesty, you really need both books to add to your collection. Bravo to these exceptional authors for adding these worthy tales to the ever expanding Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Derrick Belanger is an author and educator most noted for his books and lectures on Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Both volumes of his two volume anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural were #1 best sellers on the Amazon.com UK Sherlock Holmes book list, and his MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes chapter book, Attack of the Violet Vampire! was also a #1 best selling new release in the UK. Mr. Belanger’s academic work has been published in The Colorado Reading Journal and Gifted Child Today. He is also a contributor to the website I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. A former instructor at Washington State University, and a current middle school Language Arts teacher at Century Middle school in the Adams 12 School District, Derrick lives in Broomfield, Colorado with his wife Abigail Gosselin and their two daughters, Rhea and Phoebe. Find him at www.belangerbooks.com and on Facebook.